Glenside, South Australia facts for kids

Glenside is a suburb located in Adelaide, South Australia. It's part of the City of Burnside area. This suburb is about 4.9 kilometers (around 3 miles) south-east of Adelaide's city center. It covers an area of 1.40 square kilometers and is home to over 2,400 people.

Glenside has a rectangular shape. It's surrounded by major roads like Greenhill Road to the north and Portrush Road to the east. Many streets in Glenside are lined with beautiful jacaranda trees. These trees create a stunning purple display when they bloom in Spring.

A Glimpse into Glenside's Past

Glenside and its nearby suburb, Glenunga, were once known as 'Knoxville'. People first settled here in the 1840s, using the land for farming. Wheat grown in this area even won first prize at the Royal Adelaide Show!

From Farms to Film Studios

The land where Glenunga International High School and Webb Oval are now, used to have slaughterhouses in the 1800s. These places were so busy that they supplied half of Adelaide's lamb and even exported meat overseas.

In 1846, a special hospital for mental health, called the Public Colonial Lunatic Asylum of South Australia, was built in Glenside. This site, now known as Glenside Hospital, has been used for mental health care almost continuously since then.

In 2007, plans were made to update the hospital. A new 129-bed hospital opened in 2012. Some of the old hospital buildings were also renovated to become the new headquarters for the South Australian Film Corporation. These film studios opened in 2011.

Horse Coaches and Street Names

In the 1870s and 1880s, several coach companies, like Cobb & Co, set up their businesses in Glenside. They needed a lot of horses, sometimes up to 1000, which grazed on the land.

Around this time, streets in Glenside started getting their names. Many were named by the people living there, often after places in their home countries like Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales. One street, "Allinga," was named after an Aboriginal word meaning "sun."

Local Businesses and Inventions

In the early 1900s, more businesses began to appear in Glenside. A famous Australian invention, the Hills Hoist clothesline, was created by the Hill family in nearby Glenunga. Other businesses included Symons & Symons glass merchants and a company that made "Bland Radios."

Who Lives in Glenside?

According to the 2016 Australian Census, Glenside was home to 2,401 people. About 43.9% were male and 56.1% were female. The average age of residents was 45 years old, which is a bit older than the average for the whole state. About 10% of the people in Glenside had Chinese heritage.

Glenside also has three places for older people to live, called retirement communities. These are Victoria Grove, Pineview Village, and Glenbrook.

Glenside's Landscape and Buildings

Glenside is home to Glenside Health Services, which is a main mental health facility in South Australia. It's located on the site of the old Glenside Hospital. This hospital, first opened in 1870, once covered about one-third of the suburb's area. Over time, parts of the land were sold for other uses.

Film Studios and Shopping

The South Australian Film Corporation now has its main office and film production facilities in a renovated part of the old hospital property. This is where movies and TV shows are made!

The Burnside Village shopping center is also in Glenside. It's located at the corner of Greenhill and Portrush Roads. This large shopping center serves many people in the City of Burnside area, including Glenside residents.

Community and Green Spaces

Glenside has South Australia's only orthodox Jewish synagogue. Many people from Adelaide's Jewish community live nearby so they can walk to the synagogue on important holy days.

While most of Glenside is residential, you can find offices for mining, veterinary health, and other services along Flemington and Conyngham Streets. There are also various food shops and service businesses along Greenhill Road.

Glenside has several parks for everyone to enjoy. The Conyngham Street Dog Park is a great place for dogs to exercise. Symons & Symons Reserve is named after a well-known glassmaker who lived in the area. Plane Tree Reserve and Glenside Olive Reserve, which was once an olive grove, are also lovely spots to visit.